The more things change, the more they stay the same – except when you have the right talent

We’ve heard it before, “Change is the New Normal for Business leadership”, and Change Management and Transformation appear to have become the economy’s latest buzzwords driving innovation, entrepreneurship and business strategy. And where the statistics show that about 70% of initiatives fail because of a lack of effective execution and behaviour that supports it, getting Change right is becoming mission critical. But what do you do when you know your business needs to change, but you have no idea where to start? Simple. You find someone who does.

Campbell, one of Talmix’s highly-experienced, highly-qualified, independent consultants shares his insight on today’s business market, and how organisations who are not ready for, and already embracing change, risk complete failure.

Results that resound

Campbell’s background is rooted in both the corporate and the military. With a strong career history in Technology, he has been instrumental in driving growth for organisations like Vodafone, Intuit and BWM Group. “It was while working at Vodafone in the early 2000s that I decided to pursue my MBA at Henley. While doing that, I had wonderful opportunities to explore a variety of different roles – which ultimately led me to get to know the commercial world very well,” he tells me. Campbell’s role was never just black and white – and the more he stretched, the more he learnt. The more he learnt, the more he delivered and soon, Campbell became intensely involved in non-core commercial activities which included things like innovation, business trends, partnerships, M&A, wholesale and more. And it was as a result of his capabilities in recognising opportunity and delivering results, that Campbell was instrumental in landing the launch of the Amazon Kindle deal worldwide. More recently, Campbell has successfully set up his own initiatives through Takestock and Souqbox and fulfilled C-level roles which have seen him head up Commercial, Tech and Information teams to deliver business growth.

Strategic Change Management: What are we up against?

2013 saw Campbell assume a new path for his career, using the experience and knowledge he’d accumulated, and turn that to opportunity for his clients as an independent consultant. That’s when he realised the powerful skill he’d built up through working with global organisations in transforming the way they do business. “The biggest movement that is changing the world as we know it, is the circular economy. We’re seeing a huge change from way that the consumer is buying and using products and services. For the last 30 years, the world has been dominated by a throw-away culture at consumer level. But we’re seeing that trend drastically change as consumers start to look at new ways of doing things, and forcing the hand of business strategy. It doesn’t matter who you are, or the market you’re focussing on, organisations are becoming more and more ready to adopt new business models, than ever before, and industries who try to motivate customers to stay in the old consumer models versus embracing new methods of doing things, face huge competitive battles in the fight to survive,” he tells me.

Having one eye over your shoulder, at all times.

Campbell’s insight is telling as he brings attention to new business models becoming the largest in the world, drawing on examples like Airbnb. “If you’re an existing player in the market, you need to have one eye over your shoulder at all times. Some smart tech company is going to come along and change your game quickly – and you need to be ready for it,” he says.
“M&A is the new R&D. If you think you’re going to innovate your next great idea in-house, you’re not seeing clearly. Most innovation is being driven through looking outside of what you have – whether you explore corporate venturing, keep yourself close to exciting new tech start-ups who are disrupting the market, whatever it is – you need to be doing things differently than what you always have done”. Campbell also tells me that organisations who rely on reputation and antiquated family connections are on a very short business runway. Clients will be looking to use organisations who are forward-thinking, and looking ahead.

So, where do you start?

“You cannot simply just observe,” he says. “Many companies are not even observing – they are inwardly-focussed, too entwined within their own operations, and they’re watching the decline of their revenue streams, and trying as best they can to manage it, but they’re in a downward spiral. They end up protecting their revenue today, but completely miss out on planning for tomorrow”, he says.
“Other organisations are watching trends too much – and are becoming completely wrapped up in analysis of what they see, that it renders them completely futile. While a third group of organisations realise and decide they need to change – but completely fail in executing an effective change strategy”.
“My philosophy,” Campbell says, “is that you have to be brave. You need to take on a lean start-up approach where you adopt a business strategy that sees you try new things. Yes, you reduce your risk as much as possible, but you still try.”

Why you’d want to work with Campbell

Campbell’s experience in strategic organisational change is sought-after – so much so that he makes himself available for short-term engagements where he is able to step in and help organisations with shorter, quick-turnaround engagements. Coming from a strong commercial background, but with exceptional technology know-how, Campbell brings an understanding of both worlds to the projects he works on – an often-rare combination of skill. He is operationally intelligent and delivers on strategic execution. He has international experience, business transformation know-how and market development ability – whether direct, or indirect. He offers clients the scarcity of a commercially-minded, technologically-driven skillset that would not usually be readily available through independent consulting.

For your opportunity to tap into Campbell’s skills and insight, get in touch with your Talmix representative today.

About the Author

Katy is an independent marketing consultant and founded Fresh Brew Marketing out of her love for the cuppa. A seasoned marketer, Katy writes for several global publications and provides outsourced marketing services to businesses throughout the UK. She is a keen geocacher and rates running around in city centres dressed in Christmas lights as one of her most successful Social Media campaigns to date.